Charles Dickens published the 20 monthly instalments of his first novel between April 1836 and November 1837entitled The Pickwick Papers or the Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club,Containing a Faithful Record of the Perambulations,Perils,Travels,Adventures and Sporting Transactions of the Corresponding Members. Since then there has been a well documented tradition in Bromley that the original Mister Pickwick was based upon Robert Booth Rawes who with other mebers of his family lead a boarding school for boys.
The Pickwick Papers contains within the Travels and Perambulations" an accurate description of coaching inns. Bromley had both stage coaching inns and several generations of the Weller family stage-coachmen. One wonders how familiar the 24 year old Charles Dickens may have been with Bromley and whether he had encountered the Wellers?
Rawes Academy was founded as a boarding school for boys as early as 1730 and was situated in Bromley High Street. There is no extant record of the founder however it is believed the Rawes family became involved in the 1780's. The Rates Books for 1787/8 assess messrs Booth and Rawes in the sum of £100 and various record sources identify Richard Rawes as churchwarden in 1789 so there is documentary evidence of his involvement in the school in the 1780's.
Other members of the family joined the school so that by the time of his retirement Richard had been succeeded by Robert Booth Rawes and William and Joseph Rawes and the Rawes Academy was a well established Bromley institution. Richard Rawes died aged 72 and his burial register entry in 1814 describes him as a Gentleman.
In the surviving 1801 Census of Bromley Kent Online Parish Clerks transcript Richard Rawes Academy contained 124 males and 9 females and it is reasonable to conclude that over 100 boys were boarded. Bromley was a pleasant country town with good coach connections and had attracted reputable surgeons to the town and had attracted Jane Austen to describe the Bell Inn favourably in Pride and Prejudice.
Medical care for the Rawes Academy is documented in the dispensing and accounts ledger of Doctor Thomas Ilott whose surgery was in the High Street facing the Bell Inn.Doctor Ilott between 1809 and 1811 records treatment of many named pupils and occasionally staff members.The Rawes account is headed Messrs Rawes's Academy in the Folio C ledger deposited at Bromley Archive.
Whilst we may never know of Dickens familiarity with Bromley,the Wellers or Robert Booth Rawes there are many references in local history of the town to the tradition that the author drew upon Robert Booth Rawes in his first novel for Pickwick.
Showing posts with label The Old Bell Inn Bromley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Old Bell Inn Bromley. Show all posts
Monday, 6 October 2014
Monday, 7 April 2014
The 1801 Census of Bromley
I undertook transcription of the rare survival 1801 census in 2013 at Bromley Archive. My transcript has been been online at Kent Online Parish Clerks see 1801 Bromley census. Bromley's population in 1801 is 2700 people.
Prior to the census taken on the 10 day of March the parish was asked to make another return from its registers.
The census reflects those who provided the census information Henry Smith, D.D., Minister; Edward Latter, Vestry Clerk; John Pepper and L. Ashworth, Churchwardens; Samuel Floyd and [given name illegible] Chalkley, Overseers.
The Home Office stated "A correct return of the Baptisms,Burials and Marriages of the year 1800 is peculiarly requisite,as being the connecting Link of the series of Parish Registers with the Enumerated Population of 1801 and subsequent Enumerations.
The draft form has been left inside the flap cover of the bound Bromley Composite Register number one which covers the years 1558-1715 for some events. The form requires the number of Baptisms Burials and Marriages for three year clusters for:
1569
1570
1571 for which only baptisms survive.
1599
1600
1601
1629
1630
1631
1669
1670
1671
1699
1700
1701
1749
1750
1751
1800
This crude sampling of population shows the town was growing slowly, however against this growth trend there are a number of distortions. Present within the ancient Parish were a significant number of travellers particularly on Bromley Common. The burial register reflects also a number of deaths from those staying at the Bell and White Hart Inns which were large stage coaching Inns on the 10 mile road to London Bridge to the north and Tunbridge ,Tunbridge Wells and Hastings to the south east. in addition nurse children (including children identified from the Foundling Hospital in London) are introduced to the parish and baptismal registers include adult baptisms and reflect baptism of Londoners often so described. There is therefore a shifting non resident population as well as residents of the town.
The three year clusters do not reflect the years of highest death rates during epidemics. Bromley records plague deaths more than 20 years before the Great Fire of London.
Bromley appears to have been a relatively slow growing population in a rural market town on a major coach staging a short distance from the city of London. It was not until the coming of the railway that large growth appeared much later.
The civil War touched Bromley but there is no record of any conflict in the town; the upheaval centred on evicting the Bishop of Rochester from his Palace and the installation of Puritan clergy as Ministers. Eventually the Bishop returned to the Palace and the registers return to normality with little disruption.
Prior to the census taken on the 10 day of March the parish was asked to make another return from its registers.
The census reflects those who provided the census information Henry Smith, D.D., Minister; Edward Latter, Vestry Clerk; John Pepper and L. Ashworth, Churchwardens; Samuel Floyd and [given name illegible] Chalkley, Overseers.
The Home Office stated "A correct return of the Baptisms,Burials and Marriages of the year 1800 is peculiarly requisite,as being the connecting Link of the series of Parish Registers with the Enumerated Population of 1801 and subsequent Enumerations.
The draft form has been left inside the flap cover of the bound Bromley Composite Register number one which covers the years 1558-1715 for some events. The form requires the number of Baptisms Burials and Marriages for three year clusters for:
1569
1570
1571 for which only baptisms survive.
1599
1600
1601
1629
1630
1631
1669
1670
1671
1699
1700
1701
1749
1750
1751
1800
This crude sampling of population shows the town was growing slowly, however against this growth trend there are a number of distortions. Present within the ancient Parish were a significant number of travellers particularly on Bromley Common. The burial register reflects also a number of deaths from those staying at the Bell and White Hart Inns which were large stage coaching Inns on the 10 mile road to London Bridge to the north and Tunbridge ,Tunbridge Wells and Hastings to the south east. in addition nurse children (including children identified from the Foundling Hospital in London) are introduced to the parish and baptismal registers include adult baptisms and reflect baptism of Londoners often so described. There is therefore a shifting non resident population as well as residents of the town.
The three year clusters do not reflect the years of highest death rates during epidemics. Bromley records plague deaths more than 20 years before the Great Fire of London.
Bromley appears to have been a relatively slow growing population in a rural market town on a major coach staging a short distance from the city of London. It was not until the coming of the railway that large growth appeared much later.
The civil War touched Bromley but there is no record of any conflict in the town; the upheaval centred on evicting the Bishop of Rochester from his Palace and the installation of Puritan clergy as Ministers. Eventually the Bishop returned to the Palace and the registers return to normality with little disruption.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Bromley Postmasters 1685-1897
As I was walking past the Old Post Office in East Street Bromley I began to wonder how old the postal service was. I did some research and came up with some information.
From an act in 1710 (under Queen Anne) the prior system of postal delivery by private individuals was superseded and the transportation of letters was placed under the direction of a Postmaster General.
In 1783,mail coaches were instituted as the means of delivery and remained until the coming of the railways. The Penny post was introduced in 1840 and the postal service became more complex.
In Bromley prior to the introduction of mail coaches, the town was well served by horse carriers,cart services and coach services to London,Tunbridge Wells and Hastings and therefore the first Post Master dated from 1685.
1685-1687 Wm.Crumpe who lived neat the Bell Inn.
1687 Thos.Bennett,landlord of the White Hart Inn.
1688-1692 Thos.Godden,described as such in rate books.
1693-1695 Edmund Millington,Parish Clerk.
1696-1720 William Waldron
1728-1735 Mr. J. Lawson,referred to in rate books.
1736-1752 Wm.Wood
1752-1753 Martha Wood
1754-1774 Wm.Stich,who was a local landowner in the town.
1775-1783 John Phillips,landlord of the White Hart Inn.
1784-1786 Thomas Palmer,successor as landlord of the White Hart Inn.
1787-1788 James Wilson,Landlord of the Bell Inn.
1789-1796 William Francis Peachey.
1796-1802 Hugh Hair,Draper's in Market Place;Vintner in High Street.
1802-1811 Ann Hair;Hugh's widow.
1812-1839 John Acton,who took over Hair's wine merchant business.
1839-1857 Samuel Poole Acton,son of John.
1857-1876 Joseph Bradley Shillcock,Chemist in the High Street.
The coming of rail services at two railway stations to the north and South of Market Square replaced the need for John Palmers Royal Mail Coaches.
After 1876 the appointment as Bromley Postmaster became a sole occupation and premises were needed. The original Post Office was on the East side of the Market place and the Post master from 1876-1897 was William Hewick. In 1877 he established the Post Office on the west side of Market Square and it remained there until 1897.By 1879 the Office employed 3 telegraph boys,3 indoor postal staff and 16 outdoor delivery men.
William Beale was Postmaster from 1891-1897 when the Post Office relocated to East Street to the building now referred to as the Old Post Office. It was this building that aroused my curiousity. The Royal Mail closed the premises in the last decade;counter service is now provided within a branch of W.H.Smith in the High Street. Mail for a large part of the borough is now sorted at Dartford with local deliveries from a distribution centre in Orpington at the rear of the High Street Post Office.
From an act in 1710 (under Queen Anne) the prior system of postal delivery by private individuals was superseded and the transportation of letters was placed under the direction of a Postmaster General.
In 1783,mail coaches were instituted as the means of delivery and remained until the coming of the railways. The Penny post was introduced in 1840 and the postal service became more complex.
In Bromley prior to the introduction of mail coaches, the town was well served by horse carriers,cart services and coach services to London,Tunbridge Wells and Hastings and therefore the first Post Master dated from 1685.
1685-1687 Wm.Crumpe who lived neat the Bell Inn.
1687 Thos.Bennett,landlord of the White Hart Inn.
1688-1692 Thos.Godden,described as such in rate books.
1693-1695 Edmund Millington,Parish Clerk.
1696-1720 William Waldron
1728-1735 Mr. J. Lawson,referred to in rate books.
1736-1752 Wm.Wood
1752-1753 Martha Wood
1754-1774 Wm.Stich,who was a local landowner in the town.
1775-1783 John Phillips,landlord of the White Hart Inn.
1784-1786 Thomas Palmer,successor as landlord of the White Hart Inn.
1787-1788 James Wilson,Landlord of the Bell Inn.
1789-1796 William Francis Peachey.
1796-1802 Hugh Hair,Draper's in Market Place;Vintner in High Street.
1802-1811 Ann Hair;Hugh's widow.
1812-1839 John Acton,who took over Hair's wine merchant business.
1839-1857 Samuel Poole Acton,son of John.
1857-1876 Joseph Bradley Shillcock,Chemist in the High Street.
The coming of rail services at two railway stations to the north and South of Market Square replaced the need for John Palmers Royal Mail Coaches.
After 1876 the appointment as Bromley Postmaster became a sole occupation and premises were needed. The original Post Office was on the East side of the Market place and the Post master from 1876-1897 was William Hewick. In 1877 he established the Post Office on the west side of Market Square and it remained there until 1897.By 1879 the Office employed 3 telegraph boys,3 indoor postal staff and 16 outdoor delivery men.
William Beale was Postmaster from 1891-1897 when the Post Office relocated to East Street to the building now referred to as the Old Post Office. It was this building that aroused my curiousity. The Royal Mail closed the premises in the last decade;counter service is now provided within a branch of W.H.Smith in the High Street. Mail for a large part of the borough is now sorted at Dartford with local deliveries from a distribution centre in Orpington at the rear of the High Street Post Office.
Sunday, 29 December 2013
The Old Bell Inn Bromley
As the Bromley Arts and Community Initive (BACI) continues to gather support and funding, my mind has turned to Bromley Archive to look at the original Inn and it's place in Bromley's history.
After several months I have gathered together threads about the site. The history of the current building is relatively easy to research but to place the original in the context of Bromley as a market town close to London (many of the City's population came to Bromley) is more elusive.
The parish registers contain some clues and other records are associated with the Inn.
In the burial register for 1652 there are two mentions of the burials of the Gyles brothers,sons of Daniell Gyles of "the belle".
We later have records of the Wilson family who from 1773 until 1822 were Master of the posting house. James Wilson and then his widow and family all acted as landlords;during this time the Beefsteak Club was formed in Bromley and many notable gentry characters united in a love of sport met there.
The Wilsons were succeeded from 1823 to 1845 by James Painter Davis and his daughter. Davis was an enthusiastic cricketer. His daughter Mary Ann Davis took over when he moved to Farningham until 1845 when she left. Horsburgh describes her leaving to fulfil an appointment as housekeeper to the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House but there appears to be no documentary evidence to support Horsburgh's account.From 1846 until it's demolition and rebuilding in 1897 it was run by William Sutton and his family. The neighbouring bakers shop in Market Square was also demolished and the site was incorporated in the rebuilding of the Royal Bell Hotel that we see today.
Before the coming of the railway to the town Bromley was something of a rural market town some 12 miles from London. It is often described as such but it had a constant passage of horse drawn traffic between London, Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.
The Bell and another Bromley Inn, the White Hart grew to serve this traffic and the local population. The stage coach service between London and Tunbridge Wells and onward to Hastings had need of a staging point in the town and the Bell and White Hart could stable up to 100 horses for travellers.
Two coaches a day left Bromley at 9 a.m. in the summer or 7-30 a.m. in winter. One coach travelled to the Boars Head Fleet Street the other for the Spread Eagle,Gracechurch Street.Over time additional stage coaches added to the service with two to Charing Cross and an additional coach to Gracechurch Street until the railway arrived in the town.
In addition there were two local daily carrier carts to London and these are recorded as late as 1884. Consequently the Bell found fame and Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice has Lady Catherine de Bourgh recommend to Elizabeth that she change horses at the Bell.
There are also references to death's of those accommodated at the Bell overnight in the parish register and adjacent to the Market Square. It was also popular for travellers at market days and the ancient Fair days. Bromley although rural has a surviving 1801 census with a total population of 2,700 (including schools and Bromley College which housed widows and families of deceased clergy). Bromley's population of permanent residents hardly increased over decades.
Bromley has for centuries been a place for Romany and other travelling families and the parish registers record substantial burials of traveller families who were a feature of Bromley Common and seasonal fruit pickers and agricultural workers can be found to move through and work the land.
One cause for increase in population was the attraction of permanent residence to be under the care and supervision of Mister James Scott who until retirement in 1829 to Clay Hill had become renowned as a surgeon specialising in diseased joints and ulcerated hips. He had succeeded Mister Bagshaw in his medical practice in Bromley. Thus the town attracted patients and residents and there is a notable decline in population after his retirement. "Scotts Coaches" brought patients from all over the country to the practice.
The Bell became "Royal" when royal coaches began to change horses there and in this respect it came to attract a different clientele to it's companion the White Hart.
Bromley had resident ostlers and stage coach men and traffic between nearby "Croyden" and between Bromley Bishop's Palace and Rochester was also undertaken. The initial passenger bus services between the town and outlying villages and parishes like Keston, Downe and Cudham were horse drawn and necessary to connect to the rail services which developed after the 1850's when the town rapidly expanded to occupy the land to the south and east along Bromley Common and north to created the need for a branch railway line to Bromley North.
Copyright (c) Henry Mantell 2013
After several months I have gathered together threads about the site. The history of the current building is relatively easy to research but to place the original in the context of Bromley as a market town close to London (many of the City's population came to Bromley) is more elusive.
The parish registers contain some clues and other records are associated with the Inn.
In the burial register for 1652 there are two mentions of the burials of the Gyles brothers,sons of Daniell Gyles of "the belle".
We later have records of the Wilson family who from 1773 until 1822 were Master of the posting house. James Wilson and then his widow and family all acted as landlords;during this time the Beefsteak Club was formed in Bromley and many notable gentry characters united in a love of sport met there.
The Wilsons were succeeded from 1823 to 1845 by James Painter Davis and his daughter. Davis was an enthusiastic cricketer. His daughter Mary Ann Davis took over when he moved to Farningham until 1845 when she left. Horsburgh describes her leaving to fulfil an appointment as housekeeper to the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House but there appears to be no documentary evidence to support Horsburgh's account.From 1846 until it's demolition and rebuilding in 1897 it was run by William Sutton and his family. The neighbouring bakers shop in Market Square was also demolished and the site was incorporated in the rebuilding of the Royal Bell Hotel that we see today.
Before the coming of the railway to the town Bromley was something of a rural market town some 12 miles from London. It is often described as such but it had a constant passage of horse drawn traffic between London, Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.
The Bell and another Bromley Inn, the White Hart grew to serve this traffic and the local population. The stage coach service between London and Tunbridge Wells and onward to Hastings had need of a staging point in the town and the Bell and White Hart could stable up to 100 horses for travellers.
Two coaches a day left Bromley at 9 a.m. in the summer or 7-30 a.m. in winter. One coach travelled to the Boars Head Fleet Street the other for the Spread Eagle,Gracechurch Street.Over time additional stage coaches added to the service with two to Charing Cross and an additional coach to Gracechurch Street until the railway arrived in the town.
In addition there were two local daily carrier carts to London and these are recorded as late as 1884. Consequently the Bell found fame and Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice has Lady Catherine de Bourgh recommend to Elizabeth that she change horses at the Bell.
There are also references to death's of those accommodated at the Bell overnight in the parish register and adjacent to the Market Square. It was also popular for travellers at market days and the ancient Fair days. Bromley although rural has a surviving 1801 census with a total population of 2,700 (including schools and Bromley College which housed widows and families of deceased clergy). Bromley's population of permanent residents hardly increased over decades.
Bromley has for centuries been a place for Romany and other travelling families and the parish registers record substantial burials of traveller families who were a feature of Bromley Common and seasonal fruit pickers and agricultural workers can be found to move through and work the land.
One cause for increase in population was the attraction of permanent residence to be under the care and supervision of Mister James Scott who until retirement in 1829 to Clay Hill had become renowned as a surgeon specialising in diseased joints and ulcerated hips. He had succeeded Mister Bagshaw in his medical practice in Bromley. Thus the town attracted patients and residents and there is a notable decline in population after his retirement. "Scotts Coaches" brought patients from all over the country to the practice.
The Bell became "Royal" when royal coaches began to change horses there and in this respect it came to attract a different clientele to it's companion the White Hart.
Bromley had resident ostlers and stage coach men and traffic between nearby "Croyden" and between Bromley Bishop's Palace and Rochester was also undertaken. The initial passenger bus services between the town and outlying villages and parishes like Keston, Downe and Cudham were horse drawn and necessary to connect to the rail services which developed after the 1850's when the town rapidly expanded to occupy the land to the south and east along Bromley Common and north to created the need for a branch railway line to Bromley North.
Copyright (c) Henry Mantell 2013
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